Newspaper Vietnamese culture Recently there was a series of articles “Blood Mulberry Blossom, the world is awakening, why is Vietnam still treacherous?”, which provides a lot of useful and, unfortunately, for a long time largely neglected information about an organic plant species. Environment in general and agriculture in particular. On this subject, the editors have published an article by Dr. Pham Gia Minh and would like to pass this on to the readers.
history in the world
In India, where land is scarce, people grow duckweed in tarpaulin tanks that stand on barren land where crops cannot be grown, or stacked in many layers and still meet the protein needs of livestock and poultry. If Vietnam previously had the VAC recirculation farming model proposed by Professor Tu Giay that has stood the test, it is the water hyacinth in India that is a component of the modern VAC model that is suitable for world conditions when farmers use cow manure around By fertilizing duckweed and duckweed, they make fodder for cows, chickens and fish, and also provide fertilizer for vegetables and rice.
For example, in the book Azolla, a call from the future, an Ashish farmer in Pataliputra province spends just $1 annually to buy neem leaves to control pests and manure, a sufficient amount of duckweed to feed livestock, Fertilize poultry and vegetables, significantly reducing costs. This is exactly the advantage of water hyacinth for small and small farmers.
Aerofarms’ highly automated vertical farming system. Picture: NVCC.
At present, there are models of Azolla Biosystem and Azolla Biohub (Center for Connecting Mulberry Flower Biological Systems) in some developed countries. These systems allow creating optimal conditions for year-round growth and propagation of water hyacinths for large-scale production purposes. The outputs of mulberry biosystems are diverse products such as fertilizers, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, biofuels or simply CO uptake.2. These systems can be formed naturally outdoors or installed indoors with a multi-story structure using LED lighting and automatic programmatic irrigation, drainage and fertilization.
Scientists are currently testing a hybrid water lily that can absorb up to 60-70 tons of CO.2/ha/year. From the amount of CO2 absorbed by water hyacinth can calculate the amount of oxygen O2 that water hyacinth emits into the air to improve the living environment. Simultaneously with CO. absorption2The watermelon also fixes nitrogen in the air and produces about 800 – 1,200 kg vegetable protein/ha/year for the field.
The US agency NASA and a number of research institutes in the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, England… have carried out experiments to draw important quantitative conclusions: each hectare of mulberry blossom can absorb 2,587 kg of CO2/year (on condition that the amount of CO2 reaches a concentration of 338 ppm in normal air), which is 8 times higher than one hectare of forest and 32 times higher than one hectare of natural grass. The higher the CO2 concentration, the more water hyacinth is absorbed, in particular Azolla absorbs 4,460 kg CO2/ha/year at 1,000 ppm and 6,569 kg CO2/ha/year at 1,600 ppm.
Strawberry blossoms in Africa. Picture: NVCC.
Water hyacinth helps loosen the soil so that it restores the growth of shrimp, fish, etc. and breeds waterfowl in paddy fields. The watermelon’s ability to fix nitrogen from the air is three times higher than that of other legumes, thanks to its pronounced genetic characteristics.
Don’t let Vietnam fall behind
Based on qualitative knowledge of world science, let’s assume that Vietnam has 4 million hectares of wet rice with 2 harvests/year and 4 months empty field, if mulberry is planted, it will absorb estimated 10 million tons of CO2/year and emits over 7.2 million tons of O2. This amount of greenhouse gas corresponds to the capacity to absorb CO2 of 32 million hectares of forest – an area that Vietnam cannot have. With 4.8 million tons of natural nitrogen applied to the field, the soil becomes porous, fertile and restores the microflora needed for the crops in the years to come.
Small organisms living in water fields, such as shrimp, shrimp, fish, snail, ca cuong, etc., which as food for humans and waterfowl, help restore the balance of the natural ecosystem that birds and shrimp lack, indirectly serve the ecotourism industry . Gradual reduction in the pollution process of domestic water sources due to the incomplete absorption of chemical fertilizers into the environment, which leads to eutrophication of water sources, stimulates the development of toxic algae, and directly affects human health, as well as animals and plants. Farmers can reduce fertilizer and animal feed costs by at least 20%.
In order for the mulberry blossom to be restored in Vietnam soon, it is necessary to arouse the motivation of the agricultural, environmental and farmer authorities. Motivation is sparked when benefits are identified and an environment for development is created.
At the macro level, although the numbers are only an estimate of the amount of CO2 The annual absorption together with the benefits of fertilizers and environmental improvements make it clear that Vietnam can fully meet its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture at COP 26. Pollution budget costs are also reduced.
dr Pham Gia Minh next to a field of mulberry flowers. Picture: NVCC.
At the micro level, farmers can cut fertilizer and animal feed costs by at least 20% and the value of their organic produce will be higher and easier to sell through more competition. Not to mention the additional revenue from shrimp and fish in organic paddy fields using water hyacinth. In order to achieve the above goals, appropriate solutions must be found in terms of technique, technology and institutional organization form:
About technology and technology
It is necessary to synthesize lessons from folk experiences, as well as scientific knowledge about mulberry cultivation in Vietnam and around the world, to form a rich library of Azolla.
One example is the secret of keeping the water hyacinth variety through the hot season by growing water hyacinths on a mud raft and dropping them onto a pond in the shade of the sun (popularized by Nguyen Cong Tieu in summer). science magazine March 1935) or the method of fermenting duckweed to kill worms and fungi, which his father used successfully. In the 1980s, a group of Vietnamese scientists led by Dr. Nguyen Huu Thuoc a sexual reproduction technology and hybrids for water hyacinths… now almost lost.
Encourage the translation and writing of more documents about water hyacinth cultivation and the application of new world technologies in an easy-to-read, understand and apply format, even like Japanese manga comics. Mobilizing native gray matter to create tools for mechanization of duckweed production stages such as duckweed stamping, harvesting and drying technology using solar energy, fertilization, drone application of pesticides and fungi to ducks, popular in the Southern Delta.
Applying microbiological technology such as using beneficial bacteria in the manufacture of water hyacinth products such as fertilizers, substrates and animal feed. Collecting native mulberry water lily varieties and targeted introduction and breeding of mulberry-water hyacinth hybrid varieties with high yield, salt tolerance and heat resistance, and at the same time establishing a gene fund for long-term research.
Universities majoring in agriculture and the environment should include the subject of water hyacinth with knowledge of soil, agrochemistry and soil health in their undergraduate programs.
Model of cultivation of water mulberry flowers as medicinal herbs in Thai Binh. Picture: Duong Dinh Tuong.
About the institutional form of organization
At the macro level, a policy to promote water hyacinth cultivation is needed in the general direction of the development of circular agriculture, organic farming and the implementation of the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the COP 26 conference.
Since the agricultural cooperatives with the duckweed nesting groups no longer exist, it is believed that in the market mechanism there are companies specializing in the farming and trading of duckweed for seeds and planting material, as well as construction advice and water operation services to provide. based biological systems towards modernity, deep processing to bring high added value products to the market. Besides large-scale farming, it is still advisable to keep small-scale farming and households applying VAC-based water hyacinth as long as it is effective.
The hydropower industry, particularly in the northern delta, needs to adjust the water discharge schedule accordingly to facilitate the cultivation of rice with a combination of water hyacinth and mulberry flowers. Developing standards for carbon credits in the area of water hyacinth cultivation and guidelines to encourage farmers similar to afforestation …
Vietnam may propose to UNESCO to recognize Azolla as a tangible legacy of wet rice culture based on recent recognition by international scholars that Vietnam is the country’s first scientific basis for combining water hyacinth cultivation with wet rice cultivation.